“But it regularly happens in sport that someone comes up from the bottom who is young, hungry and will do anything to get what they want.

“I’m that person, I’ll do anything to be the best.

“In the build-up to Glasgow 2014 , I was very aware that everyone was talking about Michael and no-one was taking any notice of me.

“If I’m honest, it was something that I couldn’t avoid. A couple of days before the 200m final, I was in a car with Michael and Robbie Renwick.

“Going along the roads in Glasgow, there were pictures of Michael on billboards everywhere. As soon as you entered the city, it was all about him.

“Nobody else was mentioned, in any sport, really. He wasn’t just ‘the man’ in swimming, he was ‘the man’ of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

“But from the Scottish trials, prior to that, I was catching Michael down the last length. I knew I was.

“And it was from that point, I started to believe my coach Ben Higson.

“He’d always told me the only thing stopping me from beating Michael was myself. Ben said ‘If you don’t believe you can beat him, you never will’.

“That was something I changed. In training I was swimming so well, I was confident no-one could do what I was doing.

“Come the Commonwealth Games, I’d decided it was my time to shine. I knew if I was with him in the last 50m I was going to give it my best shot.

“Michael always spoke about winning gold and breaking the world record. Even I was being asked about whether he could do it.

“My reply was always ‘Well, he can try but I’ll be trying as well’.

“I was never just going to let him have it. If he’d beat me, fair enough, but I wasn’t going to roll over and let him kick me.”

So how is Murdoch’s relationship with his rival now? He revealed that Jamieson has barely spoken to him since that sensational night in July.

But whatever competitive differences they might have in their pursuit for glory, Murdoch will always regard his fellow Glaswegian as a pal.

He said: “I’d like to consider Michael as a friend but he’s a fairly quiet guy. So I’m not exactly sure where we stand.

“Around poolside there is a competitive rivalry that everyone has. It doesn’t matter how close you might be.

“You could be brothers and still have that. Look at the Brownlie brothers in triathlon, they’ll fight each other to the death for an Olympic gold.

“Michael and I have not spoken about the 200m final. I remember in the call room for the 100m breaststroke semi-final, Michael said to me ‘Ross, what time did you do in that final 50 last night’?

“I thought it was around 31.99. He said: ‘You do know that no-one in the history of the world has ever gone 31-anything on a last 50’?

“I didn’t know that – but it certainly put things in perspective for me.

“We’ve been civil since then. He had a party at his parents’ house after the Games and I was there. We had a laugh and were fairly sociable.”

Before long the pair of them will be battling it out in the pool again for medals, with the World Championships in Russia on the horizon.

Murdoch admits his life has changed since winning gold in his home city. But he’s adamant his dedication, desire and single-minded will to win will never wane while he’s able to compete.

He said: “People now recognise me and want to say hello or wish me well. The general support for me as an athlete has gone through the roof.

“It’s different being in the limelight. But nothing will change me as a person.

“I’m still training as hard. Things I was doing well last year, I’m doing the same if not better now. So I’m still the same person – but it’s nice to know now that my home nation is right behind me.

“If you’re going to do something, do it right. I don’t do half-hearted attempts.

“I’m doing it because I want it. I want to go to the Olympics and try to get on the podium. I do it because I love it.

“When I’m back in January I’ll be training differently. I’ll be even better. I want to take my body to a place it has never been before.”

■Winning Students is a scholarship scheme supporting talented athletes studying in Scotland like Ross.

Funded by the Scottish Funding Council and managed by Stirling University, athletes receive financial help and support to achieve their sporting and academic goals. Since 2008 more than 900 scholarship awards have been made worth £3m. Find out more at www.winningstudents-scotland.ac.uk